Keep both CLAT and AILET options open to maximize your chances.
CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 07 Nov' 25
The NIRF 2025 Law rankings have been published and there are some major changes compared to last year. Interestingly, the names of four NLUs which were part of the NIRF law rankings last year are not included in this year’s ranking. The four NLUs being talked about here are MNLU Mumbai, RGNUL Patiala, NUALS Kochin and DSNLU Visakhapatnam. There are seven new entrants in the NIRF 2025 Law rankings, including big names like Cochin University of Science & Technology, Central University of South Bihar, S.R.M. Institute of Science & Technology and HPNLU Shimla. CNLU Patna became the biggest gainer as it jumped up by 14 places to 17th rank in NIRF 2025 Law rankings from 31st place in 2024. Christ University lost the maximum places as it slipped from 15th to 24th in the NIRF law rankings.
Name | Rank 2024 | Rank 2025 | Change (Rank) |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 1 | 1 | – |
NLU Delhi | 2 | 2 | – |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 3 | 3 | – |
WBNUJS Kolkata | 4 | 4 | – |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 8 | 5 | ▲ +3 |
IIT Kharagpur (Law) | 7 | 6 | ▲ +1 |
Symbiosis Law School, Pune | 5 | 7 | ▼ -2 |
Jamia Millia Islamia | 6 | 8 | ▼ -2 |
Aligarh Muslim University | 12 | 9 | ▲ +3 |
Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan | 9 | 10 | ▼ -1 |
SASTRA University | 14 | 11 | ▲ +3 |
BBAU Lucknow | 10 | 12 | ▼ -2 |
Cochin University of Science & Tech (New) | – | 13 | – |
KIIT Bhubaneswar | 11 | 14 | ▼ -3 |
NLU Odisha, Cuttack | 26 | 15 | ▲ +11 |
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Law College | 16 | 16 | – |
CNLU Patna | 31 | 17 | ▲ +14 |
UPES Dehradun | 28 | 18 | ▲ +10 |
Saveetha Institute | 13 | 19 | ▼ -6 |
Alliance University | 18 | 20 | ▼ -2 |
Dr. RMLNLU Lucknow | 20 | 21 | ▼ -1 |
GGSIPU Delhi | 17 | 22 | ▼ -5 |
Central University of South Bihar (New) | – | 23 | – |
Christ University | 15 | 24 | ▼ -9 |
SRM Institute of Science & Tech (New) | – | 25 | – |
Lovely Professional University | 19 | 26 | ▼ -7 |
NLIU Bhopal | 21 | 27 | ▼ -6 |
MNLU Nagpur | 34 | 28 | ▲ +6 |
University of Lucknow | 23 | 29 | ▼ -6 |
NUSRL Ranchi | 22 | 30 | ▼ -8 |
ICFAI Hyderabad | 36 | 31 | ▲ +5 |
Manipal University Jaipur | 29 | 32 | ▼ -3 |
Nirma University (New) | – | 33 | – |
HPNLU Shimla (New) | – | 34 | – |
NLU Assam (NLUJAA) | 27 | 35 | ▼ -8 |
Galgotias University (New) | – | 36 | – |
Army Institute of Law | 30 | 37 | ▼ -7 |
GITAM Visakhapatnam | 37 | 38 | ▼ -1 |
Amity University Haryana | 33 | 39 | ▼ -6 |
Central University of Punjab (New) | – | 40 | – |
A total of seven new law schools found a place in the latest NIRF Law Schools. Out of the total seven new entrants, one is an NLU, two are Central University and the remaining four are private law colleges. HPNLU Shimla was ranked 34th in the NIRF 2025 law rankings. Talking about private law schools, Cochin University of Science and Technology got rank 13, followed by SRM at 25, Galgotias at 26 and NIRMA at 39. The table below comprises all seven new entrants in the latest rankings.
Name | City | Rank 2025 | Score 2025 |
Cochin University of Science & Technology | Cochin | 13 | 65.19 |
Central University of South Bihar | Gaya | 23 | 58.84 |
S.R.M. Institute of Science & Technology | Chennai | 25 | 58 |
Himachal Pradesh NLU | Shimla | 34 | 53.49 |
Galgotias University | Gautam Budh Nagar | 36 | 53.7 |
Nirma University | Ahemadabad | 39 | 53.22 |
Central University of Punjab | Bathinda | 40 | 52.7 |
The new law schools that made it to the NIRF 2025 law rankings replaced the same number of colleges from the NIRF 2024 rankings.
MNLU Mumbai has not been included in the NIRF top law colleges list 2025 a preferred NLU among CLAT aspirants. Four of the total seven colleges excluded from the NIRF 2025 list are National Law Universities. Apart from MNLU Mumbai, RGNLU Patiala, NUALS Kochi, and DSNLU Visakhapatnam have not been included in the list. The complete list of law colleges that were included in the NIRF Law rankings last year, but excluded this year, is mentioned below:
Name | City | Rank 2024 | Score 2024 |
Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law | Patiala | 24 | 54.7 |
Banaras Hindu University | Varanasi | 25 | 54.54 |
MNLU Mumbai | Mumbai | 31 | 51.7 |
Indian Law Institute | New Delhi | 35 | 50.25 |
NUALS Kochi | Kochi | 38 | 47.96 |
Amity University (West Bengal) | North 24 Parganas | 39 | 47.94 |
DSNLU | Visakhapatnam | 39 | 47.94 |
While the NLUs and BHU have been excluded from NIRF 2025 this year, they continue to remain the preferred law schools among students. BHU is one of the most preferred law schools among students participating in the Common Universities Entrance Examination (CUET), while NLU Mumbai, NLU Kochi and RGNLU Patiala have many takers among the top 2000 CLAT rank holders.
Name | Rank 2024 | Rank 2025 | Rank Gained |
Chanakya National Law University, Patna | 31 | 17 | 14 |
NLU Cuttack | 26 | 15 | 11 |
UPES | 28 | 18 | 10 |
MNLU Nagpur | 34 | 28 | 6 |
ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, Hyderabad | 36 | 31 | 5 |
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar | 8 | 5 | 3 |
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh | 12 | 9 | 3 |
Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy, Thanjavur | 14 | 11 | 3 |
IIT Kharagpur | 7 | 6 | 1 |
The NIRF rankings 2025 for law schools saw major shuffles. The data given above shows, one of the biggest gainers in these rankings was CNLU Patna. The National Law University of Bihar jumped up 11 places to 17th in the NIRF Law rankings 2025. Similarly, NLU Cuttack, which was ranked 26th in 2024, jumped up 11 ranks to be awarded rank 15 in NIRF 2025 law rankings. Among private law schools, UPES Dehradun was the top gainer, progressing to 18th rank from 28th.
On Question asked by student community
Hello dear candidate,
Yes, you are right UGC rules do not allow two regular full time courses simultaneously.
But for CLAT or NLU admission they only check if your 12th certificate is valid and is from a recognized board, not if you did another course along with it.
The BCI also do not reject candidate for this reason.
Thank you.
Hello,
If you are from Delhi and appearing for CLAT, then you come under the General (All India) category, as CLAT reservation is based on the domicile of NLUs, and Delhi does not have a National Law University under CLAT (NLU Delhi conducts AILET separately).So, you can apply for CLAT through All India Quota, and if you don’t get a seat in NLUs. You can apply through CLAT, AILET, or private law colleges like Amity, Symbiosis, or IPU for admission.
Keep both CLAT and AILET options open to maximize your chances.
Hope you understand.
Hello,
Since you are in class 11 and targeting CLAT 2027, you have enough time to prepare without coaching. First, understand the CLAT pattern – it has English, Current Affairs, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. Start with basics and read daily to improve vocabulary and comprehension.
Best books to start:
Word Power Made Easy – Norman Lewis
High School English Grammar & Composition – Wren & Martin
Legal Aptitude for CLAT – A.P. Bhardwaj
A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning – R.S. Aggarwal
Quantitative Aptitude – R.S. Aggarwal
Manorama Yearbook or Lucent’s GK for current affairs
Read newspapers like The Hindu daily, practice mock tests regularly, and revise current affairs every month. With consistent practice and reading, you can easily prepare for CLAT 2027 along with JEE.
Hope it helps !
Hello,
No, you are not elligible to appear for the CLAT exam while in Class 11, as the elligiblity criteria require you to be in or have completed Class 12 . However, you can start preparing for the exam now.
You can get the CLAT Exam practice tests by following this link:
Hello,
Yes, if a student is from Telangana, they can apply for a reserved seat in CLAT only if they belong to a reserved category such as SC, ST, OBC, EWS, or PwD, as per the rules of CLAT and the participating National Law Universities (NLUs).
However, please note:
CLAT does not have a separate “Telangana state quota.”
Reservation is given based on category , not on the state, except in some NLUs that offer domicile (state) reservation for their own state students.
So, if you are from Telangana, you can:
Apply under your category reservation (like SC/ST/OBC/EWS) .
And you may get Telangana domicile reservation only in those NLUs that are located in Telangana (for example, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad ).
Hope it helps !
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